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(el)u80icf36(el)nINT-7   As explained above, the Holy Books have been considered synonymous with the books in Class A in collecting material for this compilation.  However, three books (el)f37containing Class A material have been excluded.

   The first two may be treated together.  They are Liber CDXV(bl)2Opus Lutetianum (commonly called The Paris Working) and Liber CDXVIIILiber XXX (el)u2RUM Vel S(ss)aculi (commonly called The Vision and the Voice).  Both are diary records of magical workings conducted by Crowley in collaboration with Victor B. Neuburg.  Crowley placed these two books in Class (ss)3AB, which he reserved for Class A material contained in a work of ordinary scholarship, enlightened and earnest (Class B).  It is extremely unlikely that Crowley intended these documents in mixed class to be considered Holy Books.  The Class A material, typically the utterance of a deific or angelic entity, is inextricably imbedded in the Class B text, often without benefit of quotation marks.  Concrete evidence for this view may be found in Crowley's commentary to (el)f37Liber LXV X:44, where he clearly distinguishes Liber CDXVIII from the Holy Books as a group.  Additionally, Liber CDXVIII has two sections pertaining to Class D, since they comprise official rituals or instructions.

   The third book excluded is in Class A(ss)-B: Liber DCCCCLXIII                            Thesarau Eidolon, commonly called The Treasure-House of Images(el)f36.  In this case, only a short prefatory note is in Class A; the book itself, in Class B, is the work of Maj.-Gen. J.F.C. Fuller.

   For the present edition, the Holy Books have been collected and republished verbatim from their respective sources, which are cited in Appendix C.  Extraneous commentaries in the original publications have generally been transferred to the Synopsis.  Material in editorial brackets appearing within a text (as occurs in Libri XXVII, CCXXI and CD) is retained; the reader is advised that these are not insertions by the present editor.  Also, the use of typographical conventions such as ligatures (, oe, fi, etc.) has been made consistent.

   Two Tables of Contents have been prepared for this edition, placed on facing pages for ease of reference.  The Technical Table of Contents gives the actual, formal titles, using the traditional roman numerals for the book numbers.  Since these titles can be confusing when first encountered, an English Table of Contents is provided, using Crowley's translations of the book titles where possible.  Two translations are supplied (within brackets) by the present editor.  Also, the roman numerals are replaced with their arabic equivalents.

   An explanation of the classification system appears in the Technical Bibliography (Appendix B), which also lists the technical books and papers of Thelema by number, class and title.  This is intended to help readers place the Class A writings in context with writings in other classes.

   Many commentaries to individual Holy Books are extant, some of which have been published.  The reader may consult the Selected References in Appendix C for bibliographic data concerning these.

   Finally, Crowley's diaries show that he frequently used                for bibliomancy by opening the book at random and dropping his magical ring, taking the word or passage touched upon as an oracle.  This expanded edition could well serve the same purpose.

   It is to be hoped that the publication of these books, here collected in one volume for the first time, will assist all aspirants in the accomplishment of their True Wills, the Great Work, the Summum Bonum, True Wisdom and Perfect Happiness.

Love is the law, love under will.

(el)i12l(H.A. in Greek)

Hymenaeus Alpha, Caliph

X9 O.T.O.

Maj. Grady Louis McMurtry

(U.S. Army Reserve)



(el)icf36Berkeley, California

    in    ,    in

An IIIxii

August 12, 1982 E.V.